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Hancock County Announces Master Gardener Program
Beginning January 8, 2008, Hancock County Extension will be offering the Master Gardener program to interested gardeners. Prospective Master Gardeners are individuals who have an active interest in growing flowers, vegetables, fruits, shrubs, trees, and lawns.
Master Gardener trainees attend 40 hours of classes taught by Iowa State University Extension staff and specialists in topics ranging from lawn care, flower and vegetable gardening, ornamental trees and shrubs, fruit crops, and houseplants to insect, disease, and weed control, soil and plant nutrition, and pesticide safety.
Participants are asked to volunteer 40 hours of service to their local Iowa State University Extension program. Service opportunities can take many forms. They could be answering telephone requests for gardening information, staffing plant clinics or displays, speaking to local groups, teaching youth, providing horticulture therapy activities for the elderly, supervising county fair horticulture activities and serving as 4-H garden project coordinators.
Master Gardener classes will be held in Garner on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. starting January 8 with an orientation and continue weekly ending February 26. In addition there are four Thursday night classes and a Saturday on the Iowa State University campus. Cost for the program is $125 if pre-registered by December 28; late registration is $150. For more information and to sign up for the next Master Gardener class in the area, contact the Hancock County Extension Office at 641-923-2856.
James H. Hill, CEED
ISU Extension-Hancock County
327 West 8th St.
Garner IA 50438
(641) 923-3671 (Fax)
(641) 923-2856 (Phone)
jhhill@iastate.edu (Email)
www.extension.iastate.edu/pages/hancock
Classes for 2008 will be similar to the Class schedule for fall 2007 below:
Sept. 4 - Introduction/Orientation
Sept. 11 - Botany/Plant Propagation/Soils
Sept. 13 - Houseplants
Sept. 18 - Fruit Culture
Sept. 20 - Herbaceous Ornamentals
Sept. 25 - Animal Ecology/Wildlife Management
Sept. 27 - IPM and Pesticide
Oct. 2 - Plant Pathology & Entomology
Oct. 6 - Saturday Class-on-Campus
Oct. 9 - Turfgrass
Oct. 13 - Saturday Class-on-Campus
Oct. 16 - Landscape Trees & Shrubs
Oct. 18 - Vegetables & Herbs
Oct. 23 - Home Landscape Design
Please call the Cerro Gordo County Extension Office, 641-423-0844, if you are interested in this class or have further questions.
Become a Master Gardener
By James Romer
Extension Horticulturist
Iowa State University
What is a Master Gardener? How does a Master Gardener differ from other gardeners? How can I receive more information about the program?
Succinctly stated, Master Gardeners are individuals who have an interest in horticulture, have taken the Master Gardener training offered by Iowa State University Extension, and share their time and expertise with other gardeners. It is the acquisition of knowledge, the skill in gardening, and giving back to the community that distinguish a Master Gardener from other gardeners.
The purpose of the Iowa Master Gardener Program is to provide unbiased, scientific-based horticultural information to the citizens of Iowa through the volunteer efforts of Master Gardeners. Master Gardeners are residents of a community who take an active interest in horticulture. They receive training in horticulture through ISU Extension. In return for their training, Master Gardeners volunteer in extension horticulture programs and projects that enhance the community.
The first Master Gardener Program was initiated in Washington state in 1972. In response to overwhelming requests for horticulture information, the idea of trading specialized training in horticulture for a commitment to spend a specified number of hours doing volunteer outreach work for extension was formed. The Iowa Master Gardener program was piloted in Scott County in 1979. To date, more than 7,000 Iowans have been trained in the program.
The requirements to become a Master Gardener include a $108 fee to cover the cost of educational materials and a commitment to do 40 hours of extension volunteer service. Individuals receive instruction in a wide range of horticulture and related areas: houseplants, herbaceous ornamentals, turfgrass, vegetables, woody landscape plants, plant propagation, fruits, soils, wildlife management, pesticide safety/ integrated pest management, plant pathology, entomology, and garden design.
Training is offered in locations listed below throughout the state in the fall and winter months. The training sessions last for three hours and are usually held twice a week. The instructors are state and local extension specialists as well as knowledgeable, local gardeners.
After completion of the training program, individuals become Master Gardener Interns. They are promoted to the title of Master Gardener upon completion of their 40-hour service commitment. Master Gardeners can remain active members in following years by attending six or more hours of in-service education and contributing six or more hours of community service.
Master Gardeners provide many services to ISU Extension and their communities. They use their knowledge, talents, and skills on various projects and activities, such as: answering horticultural questions and phone calls at their local county extension office, sponsoring lawn and garden shows, developing educational displays, and giving horticultural presentations.
Master Gardeners also assist with youth gardening programs, help manage farmers' markets and community gardens, plant demonstration and city beautification gardens, assist at public gardens, conduct horticulture therapy programs at nursing homes, write newspaper columns, participate in radio call-in programs and assist with the coordination and management of the local Master Gardener program.
Besides the educational and community service aspect of the Master Gardener program, gardeners get to know others with similar interests. They share their gardening experiences and, occasionally, their plants.
If you are interested in becoming an Iowa Master Gardener, contact your local county extension office for the nearest training location. Fall and spring semester training classes are offered.
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